The following interview with the late Danny Gatton was originally published in the May 1982 issue of Guitar World.
Big question at the Robert Gordon concert these days: Who's that guitarist accompanying the pompadoured neo-rockabilly cult figure?
Gordon has featured impressive pickers in his former groups, but the emotion and technique of current Gordon guitarist Danny Gatton makes his predecessors' hot licks sound like doodlings.
Latest Videos From
After hearing him, the late Lowell George of Little Feat was moved to say that Gatton “is the best player in any style that I've ever heard.” Watch this guy play a blistering solo and then use a beer bottle for a slide and I'm sure you'll agree.
The 36-year-old Gatton currently hails from Accokeek, Maryland, and has been a household name for years in the Washington, D.C. music circuit.
Enamored of the sound of the western swing, big band, and, especially, Les Paul 45s that his parents spun on the family turntable, and with the sound of his father's guitar, the young Gatton was soon adeptly picking banjo and guitar. By age twelve, he was making multi-track tapes a lá Les Paul with his blond Gibson ES-350, just about eating Scotty Moore licks for breakfast and practicing day and night (that is, until he got his first car).
He soon became a fixture on the local bar scene, finally leading his own bands; a trio called the Fat Boys, and various incarnations of the Danny Gatton Band.
Gatton soon became a legendary figure in Washington, as unknowing listeners would become stunned by the ease of his virtuosity in playing a style that represents a fascinating synthesis of American electric guitar since its inception.
The guitarist explains his influences: “I don't like to categorize what I do. It can't be put into any bag or any corner. I like it all and I want to do it all.”
“I got into stages of liking various guys and I would just copy them as much as I could and learn as much as I wanted to learn of what they did, then move on to somebody else.
“I was into Howard Roberts for awhile, then Wes Montgomery, and lots of guys that played on old timey rockabilly records. All those guys, Carl Perkins and Scotty Moore, anybody that ever played guitar in the ‘50s that was any good, I listened to them. Then Lenny Breau, I got turned on to him about ten years ago. He's the most amazing thing I've ever seen. My God, is he awesome. It's like pianists Bill Evans and McCoy Tyner on guitar.”
The highlight of Gatton's musical career, before teaming up with Gordon, came during 1978 and 1979, when he led his own quartet, the Redneck Jazz Explosion, a historical pairing of Gatton and pedal steel guitarist Buddy Emmons, backed by Shannon Ford (currently Gordon's drummer) on drums and Steve Wolf (D.C.'s top bassman) on bass.
The Explosion successfully blended an instrumental jazz sound with red hot country influences and the improvisational license to throw in anything from Zorba the Greek to the Mickey Mouse Theme.
But just as the musical tremors of the Explosion were beginning to be felt, drummer Ford left the band and Gatton accidentally put his right hand through a window, seriously cutting himself. This, in his words, “just about pulled the rug out from under me.”
It wasn't long before Gatton bounced back, dividing his time between picking guitar in Roger “King of the Road” Miller's band, repairing vintage cars and guitars, and, once again, returning to the local playing circuit. That's where Gordon witnessed Gatton's 1953 Telecaster at work, and persuaded him to join the band and work on his latest album, Are You Gonna Be the One, which, unfortunately, could feature more Gatton than it does.
“Working with Robert has been the best commercial thing for me that's happened so far,” Gatton says. “This is like playing with Elvis Jr. or something.
“It's nice to do four encores, you know, seeing people get excited about what you do. Especially since I get to play so much with him. And I'll tell you, when I play with Robert, my chops are happening.”
Hopefully, Gatton's association with Gordon will finally bring him the recognition he deserves and Gatton, as a leader, may someday attain the freedom to exhibit the many styles he's assimilated. Danny Gatton deserves a cult of his own.
